1A/2A/3A All Battling For Position

With three weeks left in the regular season, Lynden Christian continues to lead the standings on the boy’s side with a perfect 9-0 record.  One length behind are the Anacortes Seahawks.  The Seahawks will host the Lyncs on Wednesday.

Lynden has forged their way into third place after wins over Sehome and Burlington-Edison this week, as the 2A’s continue shuffling like a deck of cards on a Las Vegas blackjack table.

Sehome responded to their loss to Lynden by winning at Lakewood on Friday, 65-57.  The Mariners recovered from early deficits of 9-2 and 28-15 in the middle of the second quarter.  The Mariners scored the final 14 points of the half to lead 29-28 at halftime.

The Mariners took a quick lead in the third quarter which stretched to 12 points in the middle of the fourth quarter.  The Cougars got no closer than six points in the final minute.

Sedro Woolley won at Mount Vernon 57-54 on Friday, keeping a safe distance between them and the rest of the 3A field. 

Speaking of that, the Bulldogs, along with Ferndale and Oak Harbor are battling for the final two spots awarded to the NWC for the 3A district tournament and they are separated by only one game in the standings.  Only two of those three will get in.  Wednesday’s game when the Golden Eagles host the Wildcats may be the most important game of the week.

Nooksack Valley 56, Blaine 43

On Thursday, the Nooksack Valley got their first conference win of the season, a 56-43 victory at Blaine. 

Senior guard Jayden Anderson got the Pioneers off to a quick start by hitting two 3-point shots in the first 35 seconds.  The Pioneers stroked four 3-pointers in the quarter, staking them to an 18-11 lead. 

The Pioneers ten-point halftime lead wilted to five, momentarily, in the third quarter, before stretching it to 15 in the fourth quarter. 

The Pioneers shot the ball well, and with their length and athleticism, created several offensive opportunities with their full court press in the early stages of the game.  They start four seniors and a junior, all ranging from 6-0 to 6-3, which narrowed the offensive passing lanes on the Borderites.

Anderson’s ten first-quarter points grew to 17 by game’s end.  Senior guard Owen Wichers scored 13, while senior guard Crew Bauman added ten.

The Borderites only double-figures scorer was 6-3 junior forward Peyton Bouma, who came off the bench to score eight second-quarter points, and 12 for the game.

As of right now, Blaine, Nooksack, and Mount Baker are separated by a single game as well.  They will not face any loser out games until the post-season.  That will take place at the start of the 1A district tournament, when the number four and five seeds play each other.

The only game left on the schedule that pits any of those three teams together is Wednesday, when Nooksack travels to Mount Baker.  So, getting into the top three when it comes to the 1A group will depend on nabbing a win or two from someone higher in the standings.

From the second half of the Meridian game, through four quarters against Blaine, the Pioneers may be the team with the best chance of doing just that.

Lynden 61, Burlington-Edison 55

For the second time this week, a key 2A battle went to the Lynden Lions, getting past the Burlington-Edison Tigers, 61-55, in the Tigers gym on Friday. 

The Lions went with a different defensive plan than others have tried, to corral the Tigers 6-6 senior, Logan Heigert.  They opted for strength over height against Heigert, and his 26-point scoring average.

Malachi Koenen, at 5-9, drew the starting defensive assignment on Heigert.  But after drawing two fouls in less than three minutes, the next defender up was 6-0 Brody Price.

Price is quick enough to stay with Heigert on the outside and muscled up on Heigert when he went to the post area.  Heigert was able to use his height to his advantage at times on the inside, but over the entire game, his touches were limited.

The Tigers took advantage of the Lions early on with their full court zone pressure.  The Lions turned the ball over several times in the first eight minutes.  On consecutive possessions, the Tigers got a steal and a lay-in from senior guard Madden Whitlock, followed by forcing a 10-second back court violation by the Lions.

But once the Lions broke the pressure and got into their offense, they were able to execute enough to take an 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

Interestingly, in a physical game where fouls were called at both ends, the first free throws did not come until the 3:49 mark of the second quarter. 

The Tigers had a 22-21 lead with 2:20 left in the half until back-to-back 3-point shots by Lions senior guard James Ellis, and senior forward Ty Jorgenson put the Lions in the lead for good.  They led 30-24 at halftime.  Heigert scored six points in the first quarter and had eight at halftime. 

While the Lions hit six 3-point shots in the first half, their offensive focus turned to the interior, as the 6-7 Jorgenson and 6-6 senior Spencer Adams worked the high-low game to their advantage.  The two combined for 15 of the Lions 21 third quarter points as they took a 16-point lead late in the quarter.

Senior forward Zakary Fleshman spurred a fourth quarter comeback by the Tigers, as he scored seven of his nine points in the final frame on drives to the rim.

As the Lions could muster only five points in the first 7:21 of the fourth quarter, the Tigers had a big chance to get close earlier in the quarter.

A 3-point shot by Whitlock brought the Tigers to within six points with 3:22 to go.  A foul was called on the Lions Price in action in the key.  But the Tigers turned the ball over on that extended possession.

From there, it was an array of missed shots and turnovers by both teams with very little movement on the scoreboard. 

Heigert got loose for an uncontested dunk to get the Tigers to within 56-50 with 1:06 left.  That capped an 18-8 run by the Tigers since late in the third quarter. 

Adams and Lions junior guard Gordy Bedlington combined to make 5-8 free throws in the last 39 seconds to keep the Lions just far enough in front.  Heigert’s only made 3-point shot came from 23-feet straight away, off the glass, with five second left. 

Heigert finished with 19 points, leading the Tigers, with Whitlock adding 15. 

The Lions were led by 16 points from Jorgenson and 13 from Adams.  They combined for ten points in the first half, and 19 in the second half. 

However, this 2A mess ends up after league games are completed, it won’t be the road map for the district tournament.  At least I don’t think so. 

Anacortes, Lynden, Burlington-Edison, Sehome, and Lakewood can all beat each other.  Then you add a quality Archbishop Murphy team to the mix, and don’t look now, but the Squalicum Storm are only one game back of Lakewood in the NWC standings.

Key matchups this week include Lakewood at Burlington-Edison on Monday.  Wednesday has three important contests:  Lynden Christian at Anacortes in a battle of the conferences top two records; Nooksack Valley at Mount Baker in the last game between two 1A teams chasing the number two seed to the district tournament; Oak Harbor at Ferndale in a 3A game that is of upmost importance to both teams chasing the 3A district tournament.

Also keep an eye on Squalicum, as they host Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, and travel to Anacortes on Friday.

~ Ted House